Christopher Batten

Nanophotonic Devices

Our collaboration with device-level researchers at both MIT and Cornell
enable us to study the best way to leverage nanophotonic devices in
future processors [IEEE-MICRO'09, NOCS'09, ISCA'10]. The images on
the left illustrate waveguides, modulators, and filters fabricated by
researchers led by Prof. Vladimir Stojanović, Henry I. Smith, Judy
L. Hoyt, Franz X. Kärtner, and Rajeev J. Ram at MIT. This approach
uses front-end-of-line integration without any modifications to a
standard CMOS process flow, except for a final post-processing step to
create an air gap under the waveguides for better optical confinement.
The images on the right illustrate modulators and receivers fabricated
by Prof. Michal Lipson's group at Cornell. This approach will
eventually use back-end-of-line integration to deposit devices on top
of the metal interconnect stack. Either approach could eventually
enable chip-level interconnects with improved energy efficiency and
bandwidth density compared to projected electrical technologies.